Miranda's Mate Read Free Page B

defending herself. He should be by her side, helping her…
    “No.” He spoke out loud to get hold of his emotions. “She hasn’t been through her final tests yet. Maybe once she’s tenured and I know beyond a shadow of doubt I can trust her—”
    Yeah, what then? Do I break every rule I ever made for The Company and mate with her—make her mine?
    Hold it there, bud , a rational part of his brain horned in. I have no idea if she’s even lycan.
    If she wasn’t, he could always bite her and solve that little problem, but another of his rules would shatter. He’d forbidden lycans to create more of their kind until they were truly needed. No point in making shifters only to have them gunned down.
    “Fuck.” A growl shook the bathroom. He got out of the tub and toweled himself off. “I made too many fucking rules, and now I’m falling over them.”
    * * * *
    “I let you sleep as long as I dared,” Lars said from the doorway.
    “Crap.” Miranda rolled over and groaned. Her head pounded. Her body ached. Fear flooded her mouth with a sharp, metallic taste. “Why didn’t I hear the door open?”
    He grinned at her. “I can be…quiet as a cat when I need to. I ordered breakfast. It should be here by the time you have had a shower.” The door closed.
    She lurched off the bed. The room spun, and she grabbed hold of a dresser until things steadied. Weak as a newborn pup, she shambled into the shower, dropping a trail of clothing as she went, and let hot jets pummel her body. Someone had outfitted the brownstone apartment. Must be some kind of safe house, she surmised as she used lavender shampoo and soap. Her entire right side was one huge bruise from just below her breast all the way to her hipbone. More bruising trailed down the side of her leg.
    Miranda grimaced. Between being hurt and not even being able to remember when she’d last eaten, no wonder she felt so shitty. Lars stuck his head around the bathroom door. She hadn’t bothered to shut it since it opened off her bedroom. “I put fresh clothes on the bed.”
    Miranda glanced at him through the glass shower doors and nodded. He could see her body, but it didn’t matter. Or did it? Why wasn’t he leaving? “Don’t you have to see to breakfast or something?” she called over the noise of the shower.
    He laughed wryly. “It is here. Your side looks…serious. Would you like me to wrap it?”
    “Do you have an Ace wrap that big?”
    “Of course. My firm maintains this apartment.”
    She pressed her tongue against her teeth. “Just leave the bandage on the bed. I’ll manage.”
    “It is better if I do it, fraulein. You will not get it tight enough.”
    “I’ll think about it. Now get out of here so I can finish up.”
    Miranda swathed her long, wet hair in one towel and used another to dry herself. A cursory examination of the medicine cabinet yielded toothpaste and half a dozen toothbrushes wrapped in plastic. She brushed her teeth. Between soap, water, and moving around, she did feel better.
    A nondescript pair of black pants along with an oversized black shirt and black jacket lay on the bed. Clean underwear—panties and a jog bra—had been placed atop them. Miranda held the pile of clothing to her nose and breathed deep. Clean. What a luxury. She slid into the underwear and tried wrapping the elasticized bandage around her ribs. Lars had been right. The angle was awkward.
    She blew out a breath and made a decision. Pants and boots on, she put the top and jacket over one arm, grabbed the bandage, and opened her bedroom door. The smells of breakfast hit her in the face. Famished. I’m famished. She raced into the front room.
    Lars got to his feet as soon as he saw her. He pried the Ace wrap out of her hands. “Stand still. Put your arms out to your sides.”
    “Can’t we do this after I eat?” Saliva filled her mouth. She swallowed or it would have run down her chin.
    “This will only take a minute. It is best when your muscles are warm